NYFW 2014: Meanwhile, This Is What Kate Spade’s Brother Brand Is Up To

Jack Spade, brother brand to Kate Spade, had its very first fashion week presentation this morning. A host of handsome fellows sporting the brand’s fall 2014 collection populated a private room at the New York Public Library, a nod to the fact each of its stores boasts a lending library.

Among the male models, attendees, and cater waiters offering glasses of prosecco and bottles of Brooklyn Lager (at 11am!), we grabbed a moment with design director Todd Magill. After the jump, Todd walks us through the importance of apparel to this business built on accessories, and how Jack is following in Kate’s footsteps.

This is the first time Jack Spade has shown during fashion week. Why now?

We thought the collection this season looked really great and we have a lot of momentum going with Kate Spade. We thought it was time for Jack to step it up. It’s much more elevated, sophisticated. We introduced tailoring this season and we elevated the sportswear to align with the fact that we’re doing tailored garments now.

The brand is known for accessories, but it seems that apparel is the focus right now.

We introduced apparel two years ago, and this is my first collection for the brand.

You touched on Kate Spade’s growth—how does Jack Spade’s expansion plans compare to what we’ve seen from Kate Spade and Kate Spade Saturday in the last year or so?

We really want to to grow as a lifestyle brand. We introduced eyewear this year—sun and optical— as well as tailoring, and we want to keep that momentum going. We want to design for everything in his life.

Which menswear or men’s accessories brands do you, personally, admire?

Well, my early training was at Ralph Lauren, so that’s always close to my heart.

What hole are you trying to fill in the marketplace for men?

Luxe, edited, but wearable menswear. It’s clothes that men want to wear—our customer pushes the trend envelope too much. It’s modern American sportswear, but very New York-centric. I hate to say this, but J. Crew is so commodity, and this is a step up from that. It’s for the guy that doesn’t want to look like everyone else wearing the same brands.
· All NYFW 2014 coverage [Racked]
· Fifth & Pacific (Formerly Liz Claiborne) is Now Kate Spade & Co [Racked]
· Jack Spade Has Given Up on San Francisco’s Mission District [Racked]